A MISSING couple have been found dead – almost 10 days after their car was buried by a landslide.

The bodies of WI fundraiser Rosemary Nell, 67, and her new partner, a man in his 70s, were trapped when hundreds of tons of mud and rubble crashed down an embankment.

But the tragedy, at the entrance to the Beaminster tunnel in flood-ravaged Dorset, remained undiscovered until police alerted fire crews after managing to plot the couple’s route by tracking their credit car transactions.

It is feared the couple were either crushed or suffocated inside their silver Skoda Fabia.

John Dyke, who lives in Misterton, Somerset, where Rosemary moved from London two-and-a-half-years ago, said: “Everyone is in total shock.”

He added: “We just can’t understand why it took so long for the bodies to be found. Surely they should have been looking in the mud sooner?”

The entrance to the 345-yard tunnel was blocked by the mudslide on July 7 – forcing the closure of the road linking the village with nearby Crewkerne in Somerset.

Police broke into spinster Rosemary’s home after she and the man – identified locally as Mike, a retired medical consultant – were reported missing.

Bank details showed they were in the area at the time of the landslide.

Detectives alerted firefighters, who began to dig on Monday night before making the grim discovery.

Emergency services and passers-by had previously taken pictures of the dramatic scene.

Tim Burden, 28, was among those who visited the site the day after the tunnel was blocked. He said: “The mud must have been about 10 to 15ft high. There was no sign of a car.”

Rosemary, a retired JP, had been renovating a cottage she bought just a few months ago.

Dorset Assistant Chief Constable James Vaughan said: “The public may ask why it took 10 days to discover the bodies.

“It was a busy weekend, there were no signs of a vehicle buried in the mud, there were several hundred tons of mud and rubble, and there were no reports of missing people in the area.

“It was only when concerns were raised yesterday that we began to search and the vehicle was discovered.”